Repairs
by GrandiloquentHeartlessness
Summary: Faerie Path: After the first day of riding in the third book. Tania/Edric fluff.


Repairs

Repairs

We fled, soaring over the fields and through the forests. My fingers clutched the mane of my horse so tightly they numbed. The wind tore at my hair, and dried my eyes out painfully. I wanted to rub them, but knew I would fall off my horse if I was foolish enough to try. It had been years since I had ridden bareback, and my muscles screamed for mercy, yet I knew we could not slow our pace, for fear of being caught by the horrors at our backs. The memory of the snarling dogs kept my legs tight around the flanks of the steed I rode atop, and kept my lips sealed, despite the pain.

After what seemed like many hours, but was most likely much less than that, my brain finally released much needed endorphins into my bloodstream, (I have my time in Biology class back in the mortal world to thank for this particular piece of knowledge) gradually easing the pain in my muscles 'til it was but a dull ache.

Tania began to moan shortly after that. The sound made my chest ache. I realized how much worse it must have been for her. Where it had been but a few years since I had mounted a horse without saddle or reigns, for her it would have been centuries. Her somewhat fragile body would not have any memory of how to withstand such rigorous physical activity. It tore at my heart to think of her in such pain. I glanced over at her, only to see her large eyes rolled back in her head, her enchanting features twisted into an expression of agony that brought tears to my aching eyes.

"Are you alright Tania?" I shouted to be heard over the sound of the air rushing past. She turned her head to look at me and smiled weakly, but said nothing.

"It will be over soon, love. I promise. Just keep holding on."

Tania nodded slightly and squeezed her eyes shut against the wind, turning her head to face forward once more.

"There are but a few miles to go until we may rest for the night!" Cordelia called back.

I prayed my dear Tania could last the final part of the day's journey.

A short while later, Cordelia told us to slow to a trot. I did so gladly, the slow jostling of the horse far preferable to the harsh bouncing that we had been enduring for what seemed like an eternity.

Finally, we brought our horses to a halt, in a clearing very near a small, but clear lake. The ground was reasonably soft, and we would be surrounded by thick trees that would offer us some modicum of protection while we rested for the night. I slid off my horse, wincing slightly as my stiff muscles stretched.

Tania was several paces behind the rest of us, so I went to help the other princesses dismount.

As soon as she was on the ground, Cordelia went to soothe the horses and thank them for their labor, whispering softly to them as she patted their sweaty necks.

I bowed low to Tania's sisters, never forgetting they were indeed my sovereigns, and turned back to search for Tania.

She came to a halt a short distance behind me just as I did so, and as soon as she had her right leg slung over the side of horse, she slid off the animal and landed with a thump and a moan on the ground beside it.

I cried her name and rushed to her side. She seemed uninjured from the fall, but her eyelids were fluttering, and she was whimpering pitifully. I dragged her head into my lap just as her sisters rushed over.

"Is she okay?" Zara asked worriedly

"She appears to be, yes." I glanced down at my beloved as she whimpered and moaned with the pain that I knew her whole body was racked with. "Well," I amended "At least, she was not hurt by her fall off the horse. I fear the ride was not so kind to her."

"My poor sister." Cordelia murmured. "It has been very long since she last rode indeed."

"Help me to get her nearer to the camp site, on the grass," I said, adding "If you would, princesses" as an afterthought, having momentarily forgotten myself in my concern for Tania.

Zara smiled a little at the slip. "Certainly Master Chanticleer."

I slipped one arm around Tania's waist, and pulled her arm over my shoulder, whilst Zara took her other arm, and Cordelia rushed ahead, folding her brown cloak into a makeshift bed on the soft grass.

Zara and I lay Tania softly down on the cloak. She moaned in a way that was painful for me as each movement we made jostled her aching body. I sat beside her and pulled her head gently into my lap, brushing her tangled red hair away from her face. Her eyes were closed and her brow was knit in an expression of intense pain.

"I must go help Cordelia with the horses." Zara said softly, "I trust you will take care of my sister Master Chanticleer?"

"Certainly." I responded quickly, glancing up at Zara's concerned face.

"I hope she will be well enough to ride again tomorrow. We cannot afford to stay in one place for very long. I know not whether the warriors of Lyonesse have lost our trail, and shudder at the prospect of another encounter with those nightmarish hounds. We must begin riding again early tomorrow to assure that we remain at a safe distance."

Hearing this, Tania gave a particularly loud moan, and Zara winced. "My poor sister." She said, repeating Cordelia's earlier words. She knelt and reached a slender hand out to stroke Tania's arm. "Worry not." Zara murmured to her younger sister. "By dawn you will be well again and able to continue on our journey." She stood up and, with a small curtsy, left to tend to the horses, leaving me alone with Tania.

I bent to kiss her lightly on the lips and she moaned my name. "Edric." She opened her eyes and gazed up at me. "It hurts."

Her lovely gold-flecked eyes were so agonized that it made my chest ache again. "I know, love. I know."

I began to gently massage her shoulders, slowly working the knots out of her muscles. She winced when I first began, but as her sore muscles relaxed and the pain eased, she let out a sigh and murmured "Thank you Edric. That's loads better."

I smiled. "You're welcome Tania."

She tried to shift positions and let out another moan of pain. "Where does it hurt?" I asked.

Tania moaned again and answered, "Mostly my back and my legs, now."

"Here" I replied gently. "Turn over if you can." I helped her flip over until she lay on her stomach, face turned to the side, laying her head on her arms. I began to carefully message her back. The feeling that I was able to take away some of her discomfort made me smile.

After a few minutes, I heard Cordelia calling my name. I knew I should respond, but I was reluctant to leave Tania.

"Edric!" she called again, coming out from behind the trees, reeds and the beginnings of what looked to be a rope- I was guessing for reigns- in her hands. "Could you please assist us?"

Before I could respond, Zara came up beside her sister and laughed. "Cordelia!" she gave a wide smile, putting a hand on her sister's arm. "You fool! Can't you see? He holds our dear sister in his arms!" She spoke in an overdramatic voice that caused my face to turn crimson, and Cordelia to slowly begin to smile. "You don't think you can actually _separate_ them do you?" Cordelia was smiling so wide now, that I was certain her face would split in two.

The sisters looked at each other and dissolved into giggles.

"Of course not!" Cordelia managed between giggles. "Carry on Master Chanticleer," giggle "by all means," giggle "carry on!"

I was unable to think of any response to that, so I just blushed harder as the two sisters walked away, clutching each other and laughing.

Tania's voice came from the ground in front of me. "I don't even think it was that funny." She turned her head to look at me and evidently took note of my burning cheeks. She smiled. "But you're kinda cute when you blush." This, of course, only caused my cheeks to redden further, and Tania laughed a little, but the action caused her to cry out in pain once again.

"Just relax." I said softly, returning to massaging her lower back to relieve some of the soreness that was still obviously bothering her.

As her pain slowly lessened, Tania smiled and closed her eyes.

I suffered a minute's embarrassment when I had finished Tania's back. She had told me that her legs hurt. But I was reluctant to massage her legs, as it was, of course, rather inappropriate for me to be doing this type of thing at all. I settled for removing her leather shoes and rubbing her tired feet.

As I did so, I thought over my relationship with the princess. Although we had met and fallen in love in the mortal world, in Faerie, she was a princess and I a mere servant. A servant to her enemy, or at least that is how I began. Her family accepted me, of course, as they were amazingly understanding, and it helped that Tania had so obviously chosen me, but still it was sometimes painfully clear that she outranked me in many ways, and that I had no right to have her. The thought was a painful one, and I pushed it away, concentrating on the way her skin felt against mine as I worked to ease her discomfort.

After several minutes, I replaced Tania's shoes, and she sat up stiffly. "Thank you." She smiled.

"Did it help?" I wanted to know.

"A lot. I'm still sore, but not ready to die."

I winced internally at her choice of words, but smiled at the thought that she was no longer in so much pain. "I'm glad."

Tania yawned, and I helped her lay down on her side, pulling her head into my lap again and gently untangling a few of the knots in her hair. I began to quietly sing a lullaby that my mother had sung to me when I was still a baby in the cradle, my wings not even yet grown. I continued to stroke Tania's hair until she had given way entirely to her exhaustion, and descended into a peaceful slumber. Finally getting a chance to stretch out my own sore limbs, I stood up and tried to relieve the pain in my own muscles. I wanted to walk around, but couldn't bring myself to leave Tania. I carefully lay down beside my love, and, wrapping my arms around her slender torso, fell into a deep sleep of my own.

I was awoken by the touch of hands on my shoulders, lightly shaking me. "Master Chanticleer." Zara whispered. It was all dark now, the trees blocking out the moon.

"Yes my lady?" I whispered groggily, trying to disentangle myself from Tania without waking her. She frowned in her sleep when I dropped her hands.

"It is your turn to keep watch. I have taken half of my sister's watch," Zara gestured to Tania "and if you would be so kind as to take the next?"

"I would have been glad to take the entirety of it, if you had requested that of me." I responded quickly.

"Thank you." She yawned and moved to lay down on her own cloak, spread out a few feet from Tania.

After a minute or so she spoke again. "You are certainly very honorable, Master Chanticleer. I cannot think of a better match for my sister."

"It pleases me to hear you say so." I responded, smiling in the dark.

"There will be many dangers ahead," Zara said, her voice fading as she began to fall asleep. "Protect her."

"Always." I whispered.


End file.
